Homily Ash Wednesday: The true meaning of Ashes: Repent and believe in the gospel

 Homily for Ash Wednesday 2022

Joel 2:12-18; Corinthians 5:20-6:2 · Matthew 6:1-6,16-18

Introduction

"Getting my ashes."  That is a phrase I have heard a lot in the past few days here in New Orleans.  This craze for ashes has reached a point where some Christian denominations, even in our area, are offering drive-through ashes or ashes to go.  Just to be clear, we do not do that in Catholic Churches.

And why don’t we? Why don’t we get our ashes in the way we get our double cheese-burger?”  Put simply Catholics receive ashes in the context of liturgy because we believe that ashes by themselves mean nothing, if they are not accompanied by a few other things about which I would like to reflect today. 

Scripture and Theology

Our first port of call to understand the meaning of the ashes that we receive today is the words used by the priest or deacon as he imposes the ashes on us.  The Church offers two formulas to use:

1.    “Repent, and believe in the Gospel.”

2.    “Remember that you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”

You will be happy to learn that both formulas come from the Bible.

The first formula is from the words of Jesus in the first chapter of Mark's gospel.  When Jesus begins his public ministry, he introduces his mission by saying: “This is the time of fulfillment. The kingdom of God is at hand.”  And then he concludes with: “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mk. 1:15).  By this instruction, Jesus is not only announcing the “Breaking News” about the arrival of the Kingdom of God; he is also instructing his listeners on what they must do, if they are to gain admission to that Kingdom of God.  The two things required are contained in this first formula: Repent from your sins and believe in the Gospel, which is Good News of God.

The second formula for the ashes comes from Genesis 3:19, where God pronounces sentence on Adam for his sin.  He declares: “By the sweat of your brow you shall eat bread, until you return to the ground, from which you were taken . . . .”  Then he concludes: “For you are dust, and to dust you shall return.”  In these few words God describes what the fate of man is: a life of toil and suffering ending up in death, that is, until the Saviour comes.

Therefore, whichever formula the priest uses, the message is the same.  The ashes, Ash Wednesday itself and Lent cannot be empty signs of cultural Catholicism, or an empty external mark that we carry around; they must be a reminder to us of the journey of repentance from sin that we must travel.

·        If the priest wants to scare you into conversion by a stark reminder of eternal death, which comes from sin, he will remind you that "you are dust and unto dust you shall return," unless you turn to the Lord.

·        But if he wants to encourage your conversion by reminding you of ugliness of sin as compared to the beauty of the Good News, he will choose the much gentler encouragement to repent and believe in the gospel, which essentially is turning away from sin and being faithful to the gospel.

And so, when we present ourselves in a few minutes to receive the ashes, we are committing ourselves to doing these things, turning away from a life of sin and turning towards the message of the gospel, because otherwise we shall miss out on eternal life and instead embrace the dust of eternal death.  And although this is something we must do throughout the year, during this time of Lent, we are asked to make an extra effort, go the extra mile.

Christian Life

What will this extra focus, extra effort, extra mile be for us?  Today’s gospel suggests the three traditional penitential acts of almsgiving, prayer and fasting. 

By almsgiving, we share our material possessions with those who are less fortunate than we are.  We can do this privately with those who we encounter each day or we can support the Lenten campaigns promoted by the Church, such as supporting Catholic Charities which helps the poor within the USA, and Catholic Relief Services which does so abroad, as well as other groups that truly help the poor.

In this year's Letter for Lent, Pope Francis has some ideas for our almsgiving.  He says:

Let us not grow tired of doing good in active charity towards our neighbours. . . . Lent is a favourable time to seek out – and not to avoid – those in need; to reach out – and not to ignore – those who need a sympathetic ear and a good word; to visit – and not to abandon – those who are lonely. Let us put into practice our call to do good to all, and take time to love the poor and needy, those abandoned and rejected, those discriminated against and marginalized (cf. Fratelli Tutti, 193).

And when we carry out almsgiving in all its forms, we remember that we and what we have is dust, and what really counts in the long run is life with God.

A second Lenten practice is prayer, which is something we do every day, but during Lent we kick it up a notch.  Do we say prayers as a family, before and after meals, perhaps the rosary before we watch our favourite television show, as well as our morning and night prayers?  Can we consider coming to daily Mass, if that is a possibility?  And of course let us not forget the Sacrament of Penance, which after baptism, is the sacrament that reconciles us to God.

About prayer, Pope Francis has reminded us:

Let us not grow tired of praying. Jesus taught us to “pray always without becoming weary” ( Lk 18:1). We need to pray because we need God. Thinking that we need nothing other than ourselves is a dangerous illusion. If the pandemic has heightened the awareness of our own personal and social fragility, may this Lent allow us to experience the consolation provided by faith in God, without whom we cannot stand firm (cf. Is 7:9). . . . Faith does not spare us life’s burdens and tribulations, but it does allow us to face them in union with God in Christ, with the great hope that does not disappoint, whose pledge is the love that God has poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom 5:1-5).

The third Lenten practice is fasting and abstinence.  We fast by giving up all food and drink, particularly today on Ash Wednesday and on Good Friday, so that in that experience of hunger, we might know what the deprivation of the poor man Lazarus means and what total dependence on God is.  We also abstain from certain foods or pleasures, so as to set our sights on the greater pleasures of God.  But fasting and abstinence is not a weight-loss program, although that could be an unintended lagniappe.  Like the ashes, it is a sign of what is happening inside our spiritual lives.

The Holy Father has also given some advice on fasting and abstinence.

May the corporal fasting to which Lent calls us fortify our spirit for the battle against sin. . . One of these is addiction to the digital media, which impoverishes human relationships. Lent is a propitious time to resist these temptations and to cultivate instead a more integral form of human communication (FT., 43) made up of “authentic encounters” (FT., 50), face-to-face and in person.

Conclusion

There are many Catholics throughout the world today who will not receive ashes, in mission countries like Uganda, perhaps because they lack priests and churches.  As we receive our ashes, as we carry out our Lenten observance of almsgiving let us remember them.  And as we receive our ashes, let us remember them especially in our prayer today and throughout Lent.

And then in forty days, on Easter Sunday, we shall return to this very place, to celebrate the Lord's resurrection in joy.  Having been reminded that we are only dust and unto dust we shall return, during the season of Lent we shall have truly repented and believed in God's Word in the gospel.  And on Easter we shall anticipate the fruits of our Lenten observance, by celebrating the joy of the Lord’s resurrection, which has paved the way for our own.

I will be looking out to see if you will be here.  If you don't show up, I will hunt down in your homes.  It is a date.